The Grateful We're Not Dead have been invited to play for the Ontario Gamma Etta Masters Chapter (Kemptville) of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority's Octoberfest Party on October 24 at the home of Allan and Sherrill Ireton. This will be the band's second year to entertain at this event. We thoroughly enjoy performing at this party because the food is great and the people are friendly. Not once has anyone thrown a beer bottle at the band. Last year, as compensation, the sorority made a donation to a charity of their choice on behalf of the band. Thank you ladies.

The Grateful We're Not Dead have acquired a number of very close friends during their existence. The friends that I'm talking about are the ones who frequently perform with us. These are people willing to give up their time, use their own resources and be reimbursed in food and drink. Here are some of these people:

"Young" Al Owler
Al has to be one of our best friends. Al is quite a bit younger than the Grateful We're Not Dead and provides us with a link to our 'inner youth'. Al loves to play guitar and he performs with us on a regular basis. He is quite willing to pitch in to setup and tear down equipment. He provides his own amplifier, guitar, clothes and hat (I love the hat, Al). Al is quite proficient at locating new material for us on the Internet and elsewhere. We have to credit Al with finding the most recently added comedy item in our repertoire - Rodney Carrington's Show Them to Me. Thanks, Al. Al is also a regular participant at the monthly Music Night get-togethers. And of course, I mustn't forget that Al has provided us all with blow-up guitars so we won't attract the attention of by-law officers in the future.

Marg Penniston
Marg is Bruce's wife. (Anybody know if that statement is politically correct now?) Marg is quite skilled in arranging and leading sing-a-longs. On Canada Day 2007, Don had laryngitis and on short notice Marg prepared chord books for the band, lyric sheets for the guests and then led the sing-a-long while the Grateful We're Not Dead provided the music. Marg normally leads the singing at the monthly Music Night sing-a-longs and is dearly missed when she's not there.

Marie Rakos
Marie is a pianist supreme. She can play virtually anything you throw at her. We normally work with Marie at Christmas parties we play for because she's the only one that knows all the chords in the Christmas carols. :-) Marie frequently attends Music Night and her piano playing is a nice respite from guitars, guitars, guitars.

Diane McIntyre
Diane has a beautiful voice and has sung with us frequently at Christmas parties. She has also provided a venue for practice sessions (along with a BBQ). Diane is always a welcome addition to the Music Night vocalists.

The Grateful We're Not Dead has finally achieved a modicum of notoriety. Not quite to the same degree as entailed in Dr. Hook's Cover of the Rolling Stone:

Rolling Stone, wanna see my picture on the coverStone, wanna buy five copies for my motherStone, wanna see my smilin' faceOn the cover of the 'Rolling Stone'.

but we did manage to attract the attention of a by-law officer.

On Saturday, September 22nd, we entertained at the Ariel Court End of Summer Party. After finishing the first one-hour set we were standing around having a beer when up drives a City of Ottawa by-law officer. Apparently, someone on a neighbouring street had phoned to complain about a band playing loud country music. This young chap was quite nice so we invited him in for a beer and something to eat (which he declined). He informed us of the City of Ottawa Noise By-law requirements:

The following is considered a violation under the by-law... operating a sound reproduction device in a residence between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. that exceeds 55 dBA when measured at or inside the property line of the person disturbed.

Now 55 dBA is less than the level of a normal conversation measured at 1 metre.

Seeing as he was there with a sound level meter, we asked him in to take a reading. The Grateful We're Not Dead then launched into J.D. Wilson's Boob Song

I think God made boobs for me.They're about my very favourite thing to see.I like them big and I like them small,Don'tcha know I love them all.I think God made boobs for me.

and we clocked in at 80 dBA (about the level of the dial tone of your telephone), measured about 10 metres directly in front of one of the PA speakers. So being good little Ottawa citizens we promised to turn down the volume for the next set and he went merrily on his way. But not before it was suggested that he invite the Grateful We're Not Dead to play at his next party.

All in all, the party was a resounding success. The food was excellent, the drinks were cold, the music was great (biased opinion) and we'd like to pass on a big 'Thank You' to the hosts: John, Barbara and Jayme Reid. Hopefully, we'll see y'all again next year.

If you came here looking for the Grateful Dead then you're in the wrong place. We're not the Grateful Dead, we're the Grateful We're Not Dead. To help you on your way we've provided a few links to search engines that will take you to your desired destination.

The Grateful We're Not Dead is a trio of musicians(???) (Gord Breedyk, Bruce Penniston and Don White) who enjoy performing outrageous and controversial songs as well as classic country and rock 'n roll. We operate out of Ottawa, Ontario. It's rumoured that we'll play for food and beer (but not necessarily in that order).

The group was originally formed in 1999 more as a joke than anything else. We all came together at monthly Music Nights held at Gord's condo. These gatherings had been going on since 1987 and Gord and Bruce had been involved since the get-go. Don, however, only joined the Music Night sing-a-longs in May of 1998. Once we realized that liked country music and other 'socially significant' songs the three of us would sit and jam on into the night and wee hours of the morning after all the other participants of Music Night had left. We then started doing some of our material at Music Night and the next thing we knew we were being invited to perform at various functions. Don's son, Jeff, suggested that owing to our ages (all seniors) we should call ourselves the Grateful We're Not Dead and thus the group was born.

And of course, being a 21st century group, we have a presence on Facebook:

The Grateful We're Not Dead are playing for the Ariel Court End of Summer Party on September 22, 2007 - weather permitting. A big thanks to John Reid for providing the venue.

Last year it was cold, cold, cold. Did I mention it was cold. Hopefully, this year will be a bit warmer even though we are holding it later in the month. However, after playing for two hours with icicles hanging off our noses I still had to drag Bruce, kicking and screaming, over to the BBQ to warm him up. That boy does love to play guitar.